, Columnist
This Market Is a Teenager Who Needs to Be Grounded
The Fed has to restrain overly enthusiastic markets the way a parent might have to discipline a difficult child.
The disciplinarian.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
The US Federal Reserve is under pressure to stop raising interest rates lest it plunge the entire world into recession. This concern is not unfounded. Nonetheless, the Fed must not be deterred from its task: Like a parent disciplining a difficult child, it knows what it has to do, even though it may not relish doing it.
This metaphor — how monetary policy is like parenting — is admittedly homespun but surprisingly useful. Let’s see how far we can take it.